Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed's Amazing POTS System [Paperback]

Edward C. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Shiny green cucumbers; firm, juicy tomatoes; baby lettuces handpicked one salad at a time—these are the tasty benefits of the backyard vegetable garden. But earth gardens are a lot of work. They require a plot of plantable land and a significant time commitment to sowing, watering, weeding, and tending each plant.

Is there a solution? Self-watering containers allow vegetable gardeners—from the casual weekender interested in a tomato plant or two to the very dedicated gardener with limited space—to grow richly producing plants in a controlled, low-maintenance environment.

Lifelong gardener Ed Smith became fascinated with the possibilities of self-watering containers and began testing dozens of vegetables in various containers, experimenting with nutrients, soil mixtures, plant varieties, and container positioning. Now Smith is here to tell gardeners that anyone can grow and enjoy wonderful organic vegetables, using pots with continuous- flow watering systems.

Smith shares advice on choosing appropriate containers, how to provide balanced nutrition using his secret soil formula, and what additional tools benefit the container gardener. The reader will also find advice on starting from seed versus buying plants, which vegetables thrive in containers and which might be a bit more challenging, along with space-saving tips on pairing plants in single containers. After the last green tomato has been picked and is ripening on the windowsill, Smith wraps everything up with a chapter on fall clean-up and preparing for next spring. Now there’s really no excuse for store-bought tomatoes!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Anyone can grow, harvest, and enjoy homegrown veggies, even without a yard, bestselling garden guru Smith persuasively argues as he presents his step-by-step approach to container gardening. A garden of containers�pots, buckets, found objects�can stand alone or complement an earth garden, with some advantages, including ease of tending, portability, and fewer insect and disease problems. From soil formulas and layouts for three-container gardens on small balconies and porches to transforming five-gallon plastic buckets into self-watering containers, developing artful arrangements, and pruning, Smith�s �bible� will encourage many new vegetable growers. Useful tips for hanging containers to maximize use of vertical space on patios, grouping plants of similar mature sizes and growth rates, and using organic controls are presented as attractive endeavors, beautifully documented in numerous full-color, full-page photos. With an index, suggested reading list, average last-frost dates and hardiness zone maps, and listings of suppliers, Smith�s practical, assuring, timely, and handsomely produced how-to will see brisk traffic. --Whitney Scott --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“This handy book makes gardening for edible easier than ever.”—Joel M. Lerner, Washington Post (Joel M. Lerner The Washington Post )

“Smith’s Book is highly recommended for all libraries.”

-Library Journal

 

“Garden writer Edward Smith, an avid vegetable gardener, shares his expert knowledge on the subject in this excellent manual for both novice and experienced gardeners.”

                                    -The National Gardener

 

 “...in this pretty, thorough book, Smith addresses seed and plant selection, pest control, herbs and container combinations, and the mouth-watering photos are inspiring.”                

-The Seattle Times

 

“The how-tos are well described, and the writing is both solid and inviting, This, plus beautiful photography and handsome design, trademarks of Storey Publishing, carry the reader happily from one section to another. From container garden design to care to harvest, this book covers the subject well.

                                    -St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

“The directions are easy to follow, making the projects seem extremely doable.”

                                    -Florida Times-Union

 

“Smith divulges his methods for getting the most out of a containerized vegetable garden, including his ‘secret’ potting soil mix, design ideas, and harvesting tips, all accompanied by color photographs of his garden.”

                                    -American Gardener

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580175562
• ISBN-13: 978-1580175562
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Technique > Container Gardening

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

146 of 158 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bountiful Pots May 17, 2006

By Erika Mitchell TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This book is a manual for vegetable gardening from containers. Smith, an experienced vegetable gardener, noted that many would-be gardeners lack access to garden plots, or find tending such plots difficult because of physical challenges. Gardening in containers would make it possible for these people to grow some of their own food, but yields have been notoriously low for container-grown vegetables. Smith and his wife Silvia embarked on a project several years ago to see if they could develop improved growing methods that would produce produce of acceptable quality and quantity in containers. What they found through their experimentation is that virtually all garden vegetables can be grown very successfully in containers, and that some actually do better in containers than in traditional earth gardens. In this book, they describe in detail how to grow vegetables and herbs in containers, noting which crops and varieties are the best choices for container growing. The book is a joy to browse through, with its numerous high-quality color photographs, many of which were taken by Silvia Smith.

Smith notes that the key to good vegetable yields is an ample and continuous supply of water. In traditional pots, this is hard to achieve, since the pots must be checked and watered several times a day during peak seasons. A further problem is that many of the nutrients are washed out of the soil each time the pot is watered. This led Smith to the new generation of "self-watering pots," which consist of a container for holding soil and roots, suspended over a large water reservoir, with a significant air gap in between, as well as a means for water to be wicked into the soil from the reservoir. Smith found that when vegetables are grown in such self-watering pots, they can go for days, or even a week without watering, yet the soil never goes dry, nor loses nutrients through watering. He found that many garden vegetables thrive in such pots (although he notes that a few herbs do better in traditional pots).

In addition to describing types of pots for bountiful vegetable gardening, Smith provides very useful information about soil mixtures to use in the pots. He enumerates garden pests that may be encountered and ways to overcome them. Throughout the book, he stresses organic methods and sustainable garden practices. A very useful section of the book is the alphabetical guide to garden vegetables, in which he takes up each common garden vegetable in turn and provides specific tips for growing the vegetable in a container, noting any varieties that are better for container-growing than others.

I first heard about Smith's container garden efforts when I saw his container-grown artichoke with a giant blue Judges' Choice ribbon at the Tunbridge Fair. That incredible display got me intrigued with the idea of trying to grow some vegetables in pots myself. As Smith notes in the book, certain heat-loving vegetables such as eggplants and artichokes are practically impossible to bring to maturity here in northern Vermont, but they can actually produce significant yields when grown in self-watering containers. Although I do most of my gardening in a large earth garden, I'm looking forward to using Smith's methods to grow eggplants in containers this summer. With some luck, I may finally be able to enjoy some homegrown eggplants, despite our cool Vermont climate.

122 of 133 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Average July 19, 2007

By S. Sell

Format:Paperback

This book starts out good and states that it's going to tell you how to make your own self-watering containers. However, once you get through all the initial fluff, I found the details necessary to actually follow through on the author's suggestions to be extremely limited. The author discusses how to make any pot self-watering, but uses a ready made insert. Then he does not say where to get the ready made insert from. Parts of the book read more like a pat on the back to his own successes with pictures from his own garden. That's great, but I bought the book to learn how to set up my own self-watering system which I still am at a loss after reading the book. I was very disappointed.

115 of 126 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as Vegetable Gardener's Bible or Bountiful Container October 14, 2006

By law prof

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I learned a great deal from Edward Smith's other book, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, and I use it as a reference on germination and growing soil temperatures. So I did not hesitate to order his Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers when I decided to buy some books on container gardening. I ordered this book and McGee and Stuckey's Bountiful Container. Bountiful Container is comprehensive, thoughtful and very helpful. However, this book reads like an ad for self-watering containers, which were apparently provided free to the author with the hope that he might endorse them. Unlike the author's first book, this lavishly illustrated book is short on information, more suitable for a coffee table than a container gardener. If there were a money-back guarantee, I would request it.